


Tim Burton's Pandora Hearts

by I_prefer_the_term_antihero



Category: Alice in Wonderland (Movies - Burton), Pandora Hearts
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Crossover, Dark, Ensemble Cast, F/M, Fusion, Gen, Plot, WIP, arc
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2018-07-25
Packaged: 2019-05-30 19:06:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15103046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_prefer_the_term_antihero/pseuds/I_prefer_the_term_antihero
Summary: The characters of Pandora Hearts, within the setting of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. Tim Burton’s plot and lines are also the baseline for the fanfiction's plot and lines (though it will probably lean more heavily towards Pandora Hearts as the story goes on).Major Pandora Hearts manga SPOILERS starting on page one!!!





	1. Can a Dream Make You Mad?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story that made me fall in love with Alice in Wonderland when I was younger, combined with the story that made me fall in love with Alice in Wonderland all over again now!
> 
> For the most part, I was curious to put the Pandora Hearts characters into a setting/plot more true to the original Alice in Wonderland. I finally got around to reading the original Alice in Wonderland recently, but I don’t know the original well enough to write the Pandora Hearts characters into it. Tim Burton's version also has more nostalgia for me, and a plot that's a bit more coherent to use for a baseline. 
> 
> Thank you for stopping by, please enjoy! Leave a comment if you liked it, ask me any questions you have!
> 
> Once again, major Pandora Hearts manga SPOILERS starting on page one!!! This will probably make very little sense if you haven’t read through Pandora Hearts, as well as watched Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland (2010). 
> 
> I chose not to put warnings in case of future violence and/or major character death. 
> 
> DISCLAIMER I do not own Pandora Hearts or Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland.

When Alyss awoke, at first, she didn’t see her room—the safety, the reality, of it; her bed with the soft, white sheets, the books and dolls surrounding her. With the dream blurring her senses, her dolls would surely come alive, the shadows were deeper than the walls they fell upon, and no doubt reddened eyes would peer from that black before long. The strangeness of the dream still swam before her eyes, that place, that Wonderland, that…Abyss…

“Alyss?”

The six-year-old turned, and saw another version of herself, but with brown hair instead of white. This sight, however, was not some figment of her far-flung imagination; the two violet eyes, wide with worry, belonged to her twin sister. 

_The dream again?_ those eyes asked her. 

Alyss nodded. 

Alice, her sister, sat up, yawning and stretching. 

“I had the dream too, a few nights ago.” She grinned, “But I wasn’t scared!”

“Y-You weren’t?” Alyss repeated, as if the notion was unthinkable. 

She paused, then shook her head. “Nope.”

“Why not?”

Her sister turned to pick up the stuffed animal beside her and grinned, holding it right up to Alyss’ face. “We have Oz to protect us,” she bonked her on the nose with plush, black rabbit, “idiot!” 

“That isn’t very nice!” Alyss whimpered, rubbing her nose, though quickly found her own, identical, rabbit toy, sitting on the pillow beside her. “Oz,” she whispered softly, picking him up, holding him tight. 

A little bell jingled as a black cat jumped on their bed, as if to say: _Hey, what about Cheshire?_

“And Cheshire will protect us too, of course,” Alice added, though she glared at the cat as he let Alyss scratch him behind the ears—animals and Alice never really got along. 

“But!” Alice exclaimed, “If my sister needs additional encouragement,” she held out her hand, “let’s talk to Father.”

“Really?” Hope lit in Alyss’ eyes, though fear attempted to dampen it; “don’t you think he’ll be mad?”

“You don’t think he’ll be able to resist his daughter’s adorable face do you?”

“Thanks, Alice.” She giggled. 

“I was talking about _my_ face!” 

“Hey!”

As a smile starting to spread across her features, Alyss took her sister’s hand. They hopped off the bed, Alyss still holding Oz tightly in the crook of her other arm. Cheshire leapt off the bed to follow them.

Alice led her through the checkerboard hallways, toward their father’s study, whose unmistakable laugh reached their ears. If they were honest, it wasn’t a very nice laugh—it had a rather mocking note to it, but its presence had become comforting to the two girls. Her brown-haired counterpart squeezed Alyss’ hand, flashing her a smile, as if to say _See? He won’t be mad._

“Well, gentlemen, the only way to achieve the impossible is to believe it _is_ possible,” they heard him say. 

“You have an odd way of thinking,” said another man. 

“You think it’ll ruin me, don’t you?” Levi—their father—chuckled as if ruin was a hilarious notion. 

They crept cautiously into the doorframe. Their father was the man sitting the midst of the three other dukedom representatives, leaning backwards on his chair. Levi was wearing a blue waistcoat, and had hair of a similar color to Alyss’, which he never could get to cooperate, so it was almost always tied into a sort of messy ponytail, with part of it falling in front of his face. Upon spotting the twins, now highlighted in the office’s glow, his words stopped in their tracks.

Alyss tried to hide behind her sister as all the grown ups’ eyes fixed on them, but Alice kept her hand wrapped firmly around hers. Alice’s expression was defiant, demanding attention, and she took a step forward, like that was enough to say _Well? Aren’t you going to help us?_

Alyss’ unhidden eye was fixed on her father, timid and patient.

Levi gave a small smile. “Must have been quite the dream." He stated simply. “Excuse me, gentlemen.” He stood, “An urgent matter has come up.” A few of the gentlemen chuckled, understanding, though the others simply looked irked. 

Levi stepped out of the study, putting his arms on his daughters’ shoulders, leading them back to their bedroom. 

The twins slipped back under the covers, and Levi reclined on the bottom of the bed, resting his head on his hand, as if to show his attentiveness.

“Tell me, what terrors lie in wait for you when you fell asleep?” he asked as if waiting for the answer to entertain him, rather than ready to comfort his daughters. 

Alyss glanced at her sister, who nodded encouragingly. 

“Well…I’m falling down a dark hole. And I see…strange creatures.”

“And what kind of creature might they be?” 

She grimaced, squeezing her rabbit toy. If she listed them all, they'd be there all night, so she settled for a few: “There’s a dodo bird...a raven…a mouse…a smiling cat.” She looked at Cheshire, who was currently tolerating Levi’s touch. The cat knew better than to bite Levi’s hand, but fervently twitched his tail to show his irritation. 

“I didn’t know cats could smile,” he mused, smiling as he rubbed their resident cat’s head. 

“Neither did I.”

“And you?” he turned to his other daughter. 

She folded her arms over her chest, turning her head away. “I wasn’t scared!”

“Of course.” He sat up. “Who would ever be scared of the tickle monster?” he reached out a hand—which now, seemed more like a claw (the bandages that always coved his arms didn’t help)—to tickle her.

“Father! Father stop!” she shouted through laughs, finding she couldn’t stay strong.

Alyss giggled at her sister, but, as her eyes drifted back to the toy in her hand, so did her mind to her worries. 

“What is it, Alyss?” Levi asked softly. 

“Do you…Do you think I’ve…” She held tightly to the sheets, her voice getting quieter the closer it got to the end of the sentence. “Do you think I’ve gone round the bend?” 

Her father and sister glanced at each other. Levi leaned forward, placing his hand on her forehead as if checking for a fever.

Alice glanced between them, a finger on her chin, concern dotting her eyes. 

“I’m afraid so,” he answered solemnly—this sparked shock in her sister’s eyes, and disappointment in her own—“You’re mad.” He moved his hand to cup her cheek. “Bonkers. Off your head.” 

Her eyes fell further still, and she hugged Oz tight. 

“But I’ll tell you a secret.” Levi moved his hand from her cheek to place a finger on her chin, so as to make her look up at him, leaning forward to whisper in her ear—her sister angled her ear toward them too, she wasn’t about to miss this— “All the best people are.”

As he took his finger from her chin, leaning back, he found his daughter smiling once more. Her sister, however, pouted, folding her arms over her chest, clearly finding it an unsatisfactory answer.

“It’s only a dream, Alyss.” He pushed a lock of her long hair behind her ear, “Nothing can harm you there. But, if you get too frightened, you can always wake up.” He grinned. “Like this,” he pinched them both. 

“Ow!” Alyss cried. 

“Oy! I don’t need to wake up!” her sister protested, attempting to pinch him back. 

He raised an eyebrow, “Oh? Is that so?”

“Watch me take the monsters down myself!” she punched the air. 

Her father and sister chuckled.

“Do you think you’ll be able to fend them off for your sister now?” Levi asked, hopping off the bed. “You see I have some gentlemen in my study who think they’re very important”—He held his nose in the air, mocking how snooty they seemed to him, which warranted snickers from the two girls—“Who will ‘not take kindly to my extended absence.’”

“Don’t worry, Father, the great Alice-sama won’t let you down!” Alice called, and Cheshire meowed to say he would protect her too. 

“Good. I don’t want to hear any more about smiling cats tonight,” he winked as he exited the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's weird, but fun, to write Levi as actually acting fatherly. Hope I wrote his character well!
> 
> Alice: "Oy! Useless Servant! How dare you make Alyss the main character and not me?!"  
> Me: "I just thought she fit Alice Kingsleigh's personality a bit better, I--"  
> Alice: "But I am the heroine of the story! I'm Alice!"  
> Me, getting nervous: "But so is she...Hey! Hey! I promise I'll give you a good part later on! Maybe even better than hers!"  
> Alice: "Better?"  
> Me: "Uhh...yeah, that's right."  
> Alice: "Alright, I have a big heart, so I'll forgive you. But don't expect me to be this merciful every time!"


	2. Would They Even Miss Me?

“Ojousama! Ojousama!”

“Coming Mrs. Kate!” Alyss called back, hurrying down the stairs.

Alyss had spent the last few hours that morning getting ready for her coming of age ceremony. It was being hosted today by a man called Ilsa Yura. She had only met him a few times, but she found him to be a perfectly horrid excuse for a man. Before she could say she’d rather tear her own hair out than have him host it, however, the other leaders present expressed it was a rather stupendous idea—to be fair, out of any of the houses, he had a skill for lavish parties—and she was too timid and docile to deny them.

She wasn’t strong, not like her sister. Even when it came to the little things…especially when it came to the little things.

Her servant, Mrs. Kate, was in the atrium, peeking out the front curtain to check if her carriage had arrived.

“Must I go?” Alyss half-joked, “They have everything planned out for me, I doubt they’ll notice if I even arrive.”

Mrs. Kate took one last look outside as she replied, “They will notice.” She then turned to Alyss, and her hands flew to her cheeks, “What are you wearing?!”

To be exact, she was wearing a silky, white, frilled dress, that laced up on the front, and had turquoise roses for embellishment. The back of the dress reached the floor, the front however, did not, so that the only thing covering her legs was the frilled skirt. She also wasn’t wearing stockings, or socks, or footwear of any kind, for that matter.

“Where is the dress I picked out for you?!”

“I like this one better!” Alice smiled, shrugging.

“No stockings? What will the other dukes think? A debutante, not even—”

Alyss folded her arms over her chest, turning her head away like a younger girl, and stated simply, “I’m against them.”

“You’re not properly dressed!” Mrs. Kate shouted like her attire offended her personally, “You think you can walk out showing that much—”

“Who is to say what is proper?” Alyss tapped her foot. “What if it was agreed that ‘proper’ was wearing a codfish on your head, would you wear it?”

Mrs. Kate wore the appropriate expression of disapproval instead.

“Please don’t do this,” she said softly, as if the conversation was unseemly, “not today.”

Alice frowned, looking at the ground. “Father would have laughed.”

That made her servant take a step back.

“Yes, I suppose he would have,” Mrs. Kate muttered, “he found many things funny, even when they weren’t.”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Kate.” Alyss dropped her gaze.

“No harm done, Alyss-sama, I know you’re under a lot of pressure.” Mrs. Kate then gasped, “I know just the thing!” and hurried back up the stairs.

Alyss barely had time to wonder where she had run off to before she came back with a necklace. She pulled her long, white hair to the side, and clasped it around her neck.

“There. Now you’re beautiful.”

Alyss was grateful for the compliment though wondered if she had changed her definition of ‘beautiful’ for that comment. She looked down at the necklace, and gasped herself.

“But, this belonged to Alice!”

“And I’m sure she would want you to wear it. She wouldn’t want it to sit in her room collecting dust. She would want a piece of herself with you today.”

She smiled sadly. _But, a piece of her is always with me._ “I suppose you’re right.”

“Now, can you manage a smile?”

Alyss obliged, if a little sadly.

Mrs. Kate pulled back the curtain. “How long has he been waiting?!” she exclaimed, quickly pushing her out the door, “hurry!”

“Thank you for being patient, Oscar-sama.” She curtseyed as she reached the carriage.

“Not to worry, Alyss-kun. Between you and me,” he spoke behind his hand, “a bit of waiting would to us lords some good. Perhaps we should take the scenic route, and keep the party waiting a bit longer, what do you say?”

Alyss giggled as he helped into the carriage, she could always trust Oscar to brighten her mood.

Oscar was the brother to the duke Xai Vessalius (who was himself rather reclusive), and had been kind enough to offer her a ride. It may have been more proper for her to ride in her own carriage, but she had already proven she didn’t much care for what was proper, she had complete faith Oscar would never try anything funny, and she was much more grateful for the company. (Being alone with her thoughts didn’t sound like a very good option at this particular moment). Though not related by blood, Oscar was like an uncle to Alyss. He was one of the kindest people out of any of the houses—the four being Vessalius, Nightray, Barma, and her own, Baskerville.

After today, she would be the official Duchess of Baskerville, with equal standing to the other dukes. It made her feel funny to think about.

“Forgive me, but, you look rather tired, Alyss-kun,” he asked after the carriage started moving.

“Well, yes, I suppose I am, Oscar-sama.” She forced a smile.

“Any reason in particular?”

“I…didn’t sleep very well last night.”

“I doubt I could sleep well on the night before my coming of age ceremony either.” He chuckled. “Or is it something else? Bad dreams, perhaps?”

She didn’t answer, but she knew Oscar understood.

“What did you dream about, might I ask?”

She pressed her hand against the window, gazing at the passing scenery, like it was the dream going by. “It’s only been one, ever since…ever since Father and Alice…” she couldn’t quite bring herself to say the word ‘died,’ no matter how long it had been true. “Do you think that’s normal? Don’t most people have different dreams?”

Oscar gave her a sympathetic look. “I don’t know…I may, however, have something that can soothe a troubled heart!”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a flask.

“Oscar-sama!” she cried, “You should know better than to offer liquor to a fourteen-year-old!”

He chuckled. “Who said it was liquor? What if this is just juice, and you’ve judged an old man rather harshly?”

“Juice with alcohol in it?”

He closed one eye and looked into the flask, as if attempting to check. “Maybe just a little.”

She laughed. Alyss was glad she could laugh; she knew this day wasn’t going to be easy.

“I only wish Alice could have been here with me.” She gently wrapped her fingers around her necklace, wishing for a moment she had her old plush rabbit with her to hold on to.

* * *

 

Though the party was put together by the Barmas, the location was an old mansion they told her belonged to her own house, the Baskervilles. Or at least, that it had a long time ago. Now, it had to be refurbished, and redecorated, for the ceremony.

Everyone was going through so much fuss, for something that seemed so empty to the one they were doing it for.

She saw the mansion from the window, and couldn’t help but remark how lovely it looked. It seemed like a portal from an another time.

Perhaps a better time.

Oscar escorted her to the door, where two crimson-haired individuals were standing on either side to greet guests.

“Ah, our guest of honor! My senses are positively tingling with excitement!” Ilsa Yura exclaimed (rather creepily, if she were to put her finger on it), then kissed her hand and whispered, “Leave it to The Baskervilles to come with the boldest clothing choices as well.”

Alyss tried to smile, and pretend it was a compliment, but was sure her disgust was evident.

“Yes. At last,” the woman on the other side of the door, Miranda Barma, spoke, and Alyss wasn’t sure which she liked less, Yura’s disturbing trills, or Miranda’s clipped, cold tones. “We thought you’d never arrive.”

“Come now, Miranda-sama, the guest of honor is allowed to be fashionably late, is she not?” Oscar reasoned, winking at Alyss (they had, in fact, taken the scenic route).

“Yes, yes, of course!” Yura took her hand to guide her inside (she made a mental note to wash it later), “Please, come with me, I simply must be the one to introduce you!”

Alyss gave Oscar a _Well, there’s not much we can do,_ look, and gave her a little wave before she entered the mansion’s maw.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to combine Oz's coming of age ceremony at the beginning of the series, with his second one at Ilsa Yura's place in the middle, for this part. 
> 
> Also, I loved the idea of having Alyss in the traditional blue dress, but I thought her white one would work better for a debutante dress...


	3. Do You Ever Tire of This Life?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Some violence/disturbing images in this chapter!

“Do you ever tire of quadrille?” Alyss asked her current partner about the dance they were performing. 

His name was Arthur, Miranda Barma’s younger brother, and he was an awkward, but well-meaning man. Not to mention that he was too old for her, though she supposed many of the men present were simply dancing with her on ceremony, rather than romantic interest. And, if she was perfectly honest, none of them, her age or otherwise, caught her fancy.

The ceremony itself would start at night, and at this particular moment before it, she was dancing, and starting rethink Mrs. Kate’s words; her bare toes were stepped on quite a lot. 

She was tiring, but not of the music, or the dance—rather of the normalcy, the easy pattern of it. She longed for a little unpredictability, a dance with a bit of…well, madness. 

“I suppose it would be tiring if I’d been dancing as long as you have.”

Alyss paused a moment before giggling. Arthur returned a questioning look. 

“Do I amuse you?”

“My apologies. I…I suppose I had a sudden vision.”

“Of what?”

“I’m not sure I should say…” she began to blush. “It was…of all the ladies in trousers, and the men wearing dresses.”

He began to blush himself, muttering, “That is an odd vision,” trying to keep back his own smile. 

As they continued dancing, Alyss accidently bumped into the dancer in front of her. 

“Pardon me!” Alyss called out. 

“What’s wrong?” Arthur asked. 

“Sorry, I,” she grinned sheepishly, “I was wondering what it would be like to fly.”

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she felt like she had flown before, floated, backwards and upside down, in another life, in another world, in a dream, that was just as upside down as herself. 

He gave her another quizzical look. “Why would you spend so much time thinking about impossible things?” he asked, but he did so, not in a judgmental way, rather as if he wanted to understand the world inside her head. 

“Why wouldn’t I? My father said he sometimes believed in more than six impossible things before breakfast.”

It’s strange, in a way her father would have called funny, how moments, like dancing, can trade off, and change tune entirely. This moment, the music, dancing, lively, but without conviction, rent by a single proclamation rippling through the music until it reached her:

“A headless corpse!! There’s a headless corpse upstairs!!” 

She spun towards the messenger, who had appeared on the other side of the room, and found that the announcement was not the only thing to be worried about, for bright orange flames were lapping away at the curtains too. 

She didn’t have time to assess the situation, ask any questions, give it a name, sound her own scream, for she felt someone’s fingers clasp around her own, and a voice whisper in her ear, 

“Run, Alyss.”

The words gave her legs the conviction the music couldn’t before, and this hand pulled her from this world, leaving her chances at growing up in the past. 

When she turned to her supposed rescuer, she found her breath caught her throat.

He was a boy, who appeared to be about her age, with blonde hair, and green eyes. His attire, however, was the same red and white coat that belonged to her old stuffed rabbit, Oz. But she knew how strange it would sound to say, _‘Excuse me sir, why are you wearing my stuffed rabbit’s clothing?’_ (not that she had the time to ask anyways), so instead she glanced back, at the people hurrying away too, the flames growing ever more distant.

“This way!” the boy pulled her around the corner. 

There was a door nearby. He let go of her hand to open it, and when he motioned for her to keep following, he smiled, his green eyes flashing like he was playing a game.

“What’s going on?!” she at last panted, when they were running outside, under the sunset bleached sky, though didn’t dare stop. 

“I’m not really sure, to be honest.”

“Eh?!” 

Who was this boy anyways, who had no idea what was going on, yet had come to rescue her? What if he happened to be a kidnapper? What if he was lying, and he had been the one to cause the commotion, in order that he could take her away unnoticed? Still, there was something about him, the way he acted, that smile, and those clothes…he couldn’t be some ordinary boy. 

She glanced back at the fading mansion. Worry blooming in her heart for Oscar, and Arthur, and the others, but what could she have done to help?

Between glances, however, she had fallen behind him.

“Wait!” she shouted. After dancing for so long her energy ran out much faster than it should have, and she surely couldn’t speed up to catch up to him.

But before even had a chance to catch up, her breath was snatched from her and she was falling—

Hitting the world’s second floor. 

She looked up, shaking the dirt out of her hair. 

Before her was a large tree, and beneath its branches, a little mound, with a golden cross seated atop it; a grave. 

The boy was no where in sight, and she wouldn’t know what name to call for him anyways. The sounds of the party had dissipated too, as if she had fallen into a pocket universe.

Smoothing out her dress, she stood, Curiosity whispering in her ear, and walked to the grave. She brushed at its mossy surface, crouching down, trying to find a name, but it was too old, or too small, to read. 

Gold glinted in the sunlight; hanging off one of the cross’s arms was a pocket watch. A rather ornate one at that. She pulled it off the arm, the chain jingling against the stone, and clicked it open. 

Light…sad…music fluttered in and out of time. 

And with the tinkling of the hidden music box, interwoven into her mind, were images, like dream, like memory.

_“She’s back! She’s back!” high pitched mechanical voices echoed around her, “We’ve been waiting for sooo long!”_

_Alyss found herself in a room not unlike her and Alice’s old bedroom at home; checkerboard floors, her dolls and books on shelves, except that everything was tinged silvery white, and far more elegant._

_“So, you’re back here, again.” Said another voice, a voice she hadn’t heard in a long time._

_She turned to see a full length mirror (the most silver thing in the room), and within it, not her reflection, but her twin sister._

_“Alice?!” she ran to the mirror._

_“Oh?” Alice grinned, crossing her arms, “Glad you remember my name.”_

_“Of course I remember! How could I ever forget you?!” she put a hand up to the glass, desperate for her sister to be here, and real, “What is this place?”_

_“What are you talking about Alyss?” It was not her sister who spoke. She realized the other, chattery voices were coming from her dolls on the shelves. “You come here all the time!”_

_She shrieked, falling back into the mirror, as if expecting her sister to be able to catch her. Luckily the mirror didn’t fall or crack._

_“Don’t be scared,” Alice said, “You gave them the ability to talk after all. What kind of monster is scared of her own creation?”_

_“Eh?! But, how?! I…I’ve never been here in my life!”_

_But the moment she said it, she knew she was wrong; the room contained an unavoidable familiarity, not just because it looked like her old room back home. She couldn’t say how, or why, or when, but she knew she had been here before._

_“Yo, Alyss.”_

_There was another voice. This one older, and male, and it somehow made her realize that she had felt so very alone until he said her name._

_In the doorway, there was a man with an appearance similar to older version of the boy from before. A golden braid trailed along his back, his eyes were emerald, shining with that same playfulness, but there were shadows in the corners of his gaze. And when he smiled at her, suddenly there was nothing else, no dolls, no sister, no room. And she was struck with the inescapable urge to shout his name, rush towards him, and put her arms around him._

_So she did._

_“Jack!” she yelled, practically flying towards this man she knew, but didn’t know, burying her face in his clothes, green, and black, and white, and warm._

_“I brought you something, Alyss,” he continued grinning, brushing her hair with one hand, revealing he had been hiding a rose behind his back with the other._

_“Jack!” she said like his name meant gratitude, gently taking it from him._

_“The Vessalius rose garden is exceedingly beautiful at this time of year. You simply must come visit, Alyss!”_

_She twirled the rose between her fingers, his name echoing through her brain like it was the only thing that mattered._

_“Poor, naïve, little princess.”_

_The tune of the world changed._

_When she looked up, Jack was no where in sight. Traded for him, behind her, was a child, a boy with blonde hair, through which she could just see his eyes, one gold, the other a red that begged to and for destruction. A pair of scissors glinted in his hand._

_“If you keep dreaming like that, someday you’ll end up unable to see anything. Just like your precious cat.”_

_The boy threw something limp to the ground. She turned away after a single glance, but the sight of her precious Cheshire with blood for eyes was burned into her memory._

_“CHESHIRE!!” the scream ripped from deep in her heart._

I hate Vincent. _The thought rang through her head, the plumb line the rest of her thoughts were measured by,_ I hate him. I hate him. I hate them all. I hate anyone who gets close to him. 

_"This is madness.” The words were not shouted at her, full of malice. They were simply whispered, breathy and breathless, a softness so bitter that was almost worse than if he shouted them. Almost._

_She smiled, insanity was a pleasant notion after her father’s words._

_Though she hadn’t felt one of the thorns prick her, out of the corner of her eye, something red was dripping down her finger._

_“I will. I’ll kill you.” Darkness overcast the man’s tone._

_She felt her body slamming against the floor, a dagger flaring to her throat._

_This was another man, though this time she felt no compulsion to say his name, no deep hatred, nor love, no betrayal, nor loyalty. His hair was white, and messy, and tied to the side, falling over his shoulder. He was wearing a black cloak; darkness seemed to cling to him like he was magnetized to it, and his red eyes glowed with malevolence and intent, and hurt… no, it was more than just hurt… regret that seemed to radiate from every pore._

_Maybe that’s what the darkness was attracted to._

_Although to say ‘eyes’ is misleading. Though they may have once both had red irises by birth, one was now red because it was an empty socket, dyed crimson, blood staining his cheeks, and the hand that had evidently been clutching at it._

_And in her own hand, no longer a rose, was the eye that belonged there._

_“I’LL KILL YOU!!” his voice at last rose to a snarl, something ugly and all too real._

_She was a puppet of her own memories, or whoever’s past or future this scene belonged to; she grasped the blade with her free hand, the edge kissing her skin, red roses there once again. The strange thing though, was that she felt no fear, no real pain. She felt the blade cutting her, yes, but she didn’t feel like a child, hurt, instead this whole scene, she thought, was rather…amusing, rather…beautiful._

_With little regard for them, or their plight, the whole room starting shaking. The motion threw the man to the ground beside her. She sat up, and froze, for at the window appeared the cause of the disturbance: a creature, like a dragon, smoky black, with burning violet eyes, a growl in its throat._

_Fear was in her now._

But today, it seemed, was not a day for reactions, not screams, nor questions, for as quickly as it came, the dream burned away, leaving her with unspoken horrors caught in her throat, and heart, without the ability to escape. 

Alyss felt her legs buckling under her, and collapsed on the ground, her eyes staring, not at the world before her, but at the memories that were supposedly behind her. She almost feared to see what was in her hand, but it was nothing red; she was still clutching the pocket watch.

She wanted to cry, to scream, to demand what this all meant, more so than at the disruption of the dance. 

Notes still twittered out of the watch, the music politely playing in the background. She slammed it shut. 

Just what was this, and how could it send her mind into such turmoil? Who did those memories belong to? Why was her sister there? Who were those men?—Jack, and Vincent and…Kevin was the last name that came to her mind now. How did she know them? And who was she in this world?

Her hands shaking, she slipped the watch into one of the pockets she had made sure Mrs. Kate added to her dress, though she wasn’t so sure she wanted to keep it. Still, as long as she had it with her, she could ask where it came from, and who it belonged to.

As she sat on the grass she noticed something she hadn’t before; at the base of the tree, there was a hole. A rabbit hole, she surmised, but as she crawled up to it, it seemed much too big for a rabbit to make. The blackness it held seemed to tell her it went further down than most rabbits would bargain for as well. She stood back up, turning to find a way out, but her breath was pulled on a string, and could have sworn she felt something grab her ankle, and, once again, she was falling, falling, falling…

It didn’t stop this time. Further, faster, longer. The more she fell, something far away lit her passage, illuminating strange sights along the way: old dolls, furniture, pianos and tables, flowerpots, sometimes even pieces of floors and walls themselves, all floating beside her. This wasn’t just a hole in the ground, it was a crack in reality, and someone had forgotten to sew it shut. 

She feared it would never end. Then, with poise and gravity, upon request, it did. She expected bruises and broken bones, or worse, but it seemed the ground decided to cushion her fall, instead of give her a good punch, and everything was still and sane once again. 

Except that the ceiling was the floor. 

The room seemed to notice this too, and, as if muttering to itself, _Oh yes, that’s right, sorry about that,_ it flipped itself right-side-up again. 

Alyss shrieked, expecting it this time, and crashed into the checkerboard floor below. She sat up, shaking the dust out of her hair, her appearance noticeably more disheveled, and looked around the room. 

Doors lined the walls in a circle, like cultists in some sort of ritual, around a glass table in the center of the room. 

“Hello? Is anyone there?” she called.

Upon not receiving a response, Alyss stood, decided there was no time to waste, and ran to each of the doors, hoping one would be lenient with her. 

She turned to the table and noticed a key lying on it. Hope renewed, she ran to retrieve it, then tried it in each of the doors; surely one would be friends with it. 

“Is this some kind of joke?” she asked the last door. “Please just let me in.”

It was unrelenting. A silent guard who would not abandon its post. 

She turned away from the guardian, looking around her for something she had missed. 

Certain things blend into the background of life. Decoration, not to be noticed, much less interacted with. A purple curtain for example. 

She pulled it back. 

There was a door there, a small one, only about two feet tall. She eagerly dropped to the floor and tried the key. 

It creaked open in welcome. A lush garden sent her its salutations as she squeezed her head through it, but her shoulders got caught on the frame before she could return its greeting. She slumped back on the floor, disappointment leaking in. 

Look, one more time. 

So many little intricacies to notice and not notice; she had never been very good with the details. 

Running up to the table, she placed the key upon it, picking up the glass bottle that had hailed her over with the label ‘drink me.’ Beside the bottle, there was also a little blue dress, which was much too small for her. She picked both objects up, before looking around the room, as if waiting for the one who put it there to jump out and reveal this all was a prank. 

If this were real, it would be idiotic, and beyond that, to drink a bottle that told you to do so. 

She closed her eyes, shaking her head—“It’s only a dream”—and told herself it wasn’t. That was all she needed to convince herself to obey the bottle’s command. 

The liquid was lukewarm, and unpleasant, to say the least. She shuddered and coughed.

Hopefully poison tastes better. 

As she coughed, it seemed her own dress was outgrowing her, the silky white covering her view. Eventually she found her way out of the storm of fabric, and saw that it was more than just the dress; everything around her had grown. Or, more plausibly, she had shrunk.

She quickly scrambled to put on the blue dress that would now fit her better, and ran to the once tiny door that was now also just her size. To her dismay, however, when she tried to knob, she found it was locked. Looking around again, she realized she had done something rather foolish: left the key on the table. Though kinder than the others, the door was fickle, and had locked itself again the moment it shut. 

Upon the now taller table, was the key

She tried to grab the lip of the table, pull herself up, or at least climb the legs, put to no avail.

On the other side of the room, in another world, so close to her fingertips, three creatures peered in through the keyhole, the examiners in the test, muttering amongst themselves, though Alyss couldn’t hear:

“Thou wouldst think she would have remembered all this from her prior visit.” said a deep, and rather pompous, voice. 

“Are you certain your brought the right…Alyss?” a smaller voice squeaked like she didn’t want to be the one to ask this. 

“Come on guys, have a little more faith in me!” it was the playful tone of the boy who had led her away from the mansion. 

Alyss crumped on the floor, despair inking its way into her brain. 

Every time it seemed the situation had lost hope, however, it showed its face: there was a pretty little glass box by the table leg. She bent over it, peering into the glass to see a cake labeled ‘eat me.’

She blinked at it, straightening back up.

“This isn’t very funny you know!”

No response. The creatures watching her didn’t give any answer. 

She examined the frosting, then carefully opened the lid, picked up the cake with both hands, and took a few bites out of the corner. 

As she dropped the rest, unfinished on the floor. This time the table shrunk rapidly, and her dress, though stretched and pulled and a little worse for wear, grew with her. She knocked her head on the ceiling. 

“Ouch!” she rubbed her head, before crouching down, gently sliding the key into her palm, and unlocking the now miniscule door with it. 

“Thou hast brought the wrong Alyss.” The pompous voice decided. 

“Give her a chance, people!”

She bent over the table, (leaving the key in the door), more eagerly sipping from the ‘drink me’ bottle, proud she had solved the puzzle, ignoring the taste. 

The table became a tower once again. 

She ran to the door and pushed it open, though she did so gently, like she was butting in on one of her father’s meetings. 

The door creaked its final remarks, wishing her good luck, before clicking shut. 

Everything was much more intimidating from this angle; even the flowers seemed like they could turn to her at any moment and reveal angry faces. The world was tinged a stormy gray, the garden’s greens, pinks, and oranges standing out even more than they would on a blue day. 

A fly flew by her, nearly knocking her over. Except, it wasn’t a fly; it was a rocking horse with wings, and on its heels glided a dragon-fly, and the two were caught up in something akin to the heat of battle. 

“Curioser and curioser,” she muttered to herself, unaware she was no longer alone.

“See, I told you she was the right Alyss,” the boy from the mansion's voice sounded from behind her. “Don’t you think she’s cute like that?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI, I have a feeling that as I get closer to the end of this fic things in this chapter will need to be added/subtracted/altered...
> 
> Also, thanks to freezinginbristol for giving me the idea to use a mirror in this chapter!


	4. Would it Hurt if I Was Dreaming?

Alyss turned to see the boy who had led her there, standing with his arms folded over his chest, except, he wasn’t the only one anymore.

To the left of him there was a tall man with long, crimson hair—much like that of the Barma’s in the real world. He was wearing a black waistcoat embroidered with gold, with a white long-sleeve shirt beneath it.

On his other side there were two girls; one with chestnut hair, tied back into a sort of half-ponytail, wearing a red and white dress, embroidered with flower patterns. The other had short, silver hair, and was wearing a simple, white dress and a loose, blue coat. The closer Alyss looked at her, however, it seemed like there were two halves of her: the left side of her dress was more dirty, more ragged, and there was a gold band in her hair, her other side was kept clean and neat.

Alyss felt rather embarrassed being the only one two feet tall, while everyone else was normal sized (and now looked uncomfortably similar to giants). They continued speaking about her as if she wasn’t even there:

“Thou hast not convinced me.” The red-haired man folded his arms over his chest, looking away.

“Gee, you could just say ‘thank you,’ Birdbrain.”

He glared down his nose at the boy. “Oh? Art thou really going to—”

“Here I am, running around for weeks,” the boy cut him off, “And all you have to say is ‘thou hast not convinced me’?” the boy mocked the older man’s tone, and speech (whose fingers clenched into fists). “I could have been killed, what would you say then? ‘Thou hast not convinced me thou art dead’?”

“No,” he loomed over the boy, (and more so over Alyss), sneering, “I wouldst say ‘good riddance.’”

“Is that so? Maybe—”

“Boys!” the red-and-white dress girl clapped her hands together to stop their quarrel, then put her hands on her hips, shaking her head. “Whether or not she’s the right Alyss, she’s here now. We shouldn’t just turn her away.”

“Yes, she looks very much like Alyss-sama,” the girl in white muttered, then seemed to do battle with herself, exchanging,

“Are you joking? She looks nothing like herself!”

“Excuse me,” Alyss piped up, trying to sound brave, though felt less so as they turned to her, “How can I be the wrong Alyss when this is…well, when this is _my_ dream?”

The all stared at her. She felt smaller by the second. The staring contest broke; the man with the red hair crossed his arms, clicking his tongue is disapproval; surprise lined the girl's face; the one in blue seemed unsure what to think; and the boy looked like he wanted to say something, but didn't.

“And pardon me, but who are you, if I might ask?” she twittered with the utmost politeness.

The girl in blue and white ran up to her, bowing (she feared her speed would knock her over). “Echo”—apparently that was her name—“is pleased to make your acquaintance.”

She switched sides, grabbed her other hand, losing all formality, a creepy grin spreading across her features. “I’m Noise. Don’t get too attached to her.”

“Come on, Echo-chan,” the boy rubbed the back of his neck nervously, “Let’s not freak her out on her first day.”

The other girl tossed her chestnut hair, smiling pleasantly, walked up to her in a dignified fashion, and curtsied. “My name is Sharon.” Since Alyss was too small to shake her hand, Sharon simply offered her pinky, which Alyss shook awkwardly. “I do hope we can become like sisters in good time.”

“You can just call this guy ‘Dodo,’” the boy pointed his thumb disrespectfully at the older man, then placed his hand on his own chest in a mock-dignified fasion, “And I’m B-Rabbit.”

Maybe thinking his clothes belonged to her stuffed rabbit wasn’t so strange after all. She didn’t have time to ask him about it though, because ‘Dodo’ cut back in:

“My name is Rufus, thou insignificant cur,” he placed his hands defiantly on his hips, looking down his nose at the boy. Then he paused, looking Alyss up and down, muttering, “We should consult Absolem.”

“Yes, Absolem will know who she is.” Echo spoke respectfully.

“Who, that old creep?” Noise questioned.

“For your information, annoying little—” Rufus seemed to make a habit of disagreeing.

Sharon pinched the bridge of her nose. Though the youngest in appearance, it seemed she was the only adult in the room, irritated at the squabbling of the children around her. “Now, now, everyone.” She lifted her head and removed her hand, putting on a smile, “There’s no harm in taking her to him, is there?”

At least they conceded that.

“Echo shall escort you.” Echo was beside her before she could question it.

“A freak like you?” She switched sides and became Noise, “Don’t be ridiculous, Echo. Clearly _I_ should be the one to escort her.”

“Is she—are they—always like this?” Alyss asked her as they began to drag her from side to side, nearly pulling her off the ground.

“You get used to it, eventually.” B-Rabbit rubbed the back of his neck. “Some of us just call her ‘Zwei’—because of the two personalities.”

“No need for a quarrel.” Sharon always seemed to be the one to solve disputes, even when it happened to be between the same person. “You shall both escort her.”

As they walked through the garden, (which seemed more like a forest), Alyss turned to Sharon, judging her to be the sanest of the group, “Excuse me, but who is this ‘Absolem’?”

“Well…” Sharon laughed nervously, putting a finger to her chin, as if trying to put it on the right word.

“He is wise,” Rufus cut in, “And absolute.”

“Aaaand a total weirdo.” B-Rabbit added, clasping his hands behind his back, and leaning towards Rufus.

Rufus decided not to engage this time, (perhaps thinking he would be put in his place when they reached Absolem) but made sure to give him the most poisonous glare he could muster.

The group came to a halt as they arrived at a giant mushroom—giant even by normal-sized-human standards. B-Rabbit motioned encouragingly for her to walk forward. Alyss stumbled a bit, looking in each direction, but unable to see anyone.

“Who are you?” said a booming, crackling, cackling voice.

Right in her ear, though she felt no breath.

Alyss turned to see a giant black eye beside her face, and shrieked, stumbling back. B-Rabbit caught her with his hand.

There was a rather large, rotund man—not just fat, literally spherical, like he was a porcelain clown crafted, rather than born. He was wearing a tuxedo, which stretched to fit his plump figure, and a top hat that looked rather like a teacup. He was a bit larger than the regular sized people present, and was currently upside down, standing on the underside of the mushroom, like gravity operated in reverse for him. He (if it really was a he and not an it) had two large eyes that looked more like black pits than anything else, almost drawn on, and they were un-glinting. A rather large grin that was either comical or creepy, spread across his features, draped in a mustache that also didn’t look like hair, but clay shaped to a toy’s face.

“A-Absolem?” Alyss asked apprehensively.

“Boring!” he shouted, rather obnoxiously, stomping his foot on the underside of the mushroom. “You’re not Absolem, I’m Absolem! I asked you a question, stupid girl: who are you?”

“I-I’m Alyss,” she murmured nervously, fiddling with her hands.

“Alyss?” The creature took of his top hat, and, to her dismay she saw that it really was a mug of sorts, with a liquid she hoped was tea in it, and he began stirring it, rather compulsively. “No, no, that can’t be…Alyss has been gone a very long time. That’s the wrong information.”

“Well, according to some of them,” her voice was a small thing. She ventured a glance at the others, who avoided her gaze, and she continued softly, like it was embarrassing, “I may not be the right one.”

The creature stopped stirring, glancing between her and the group, then shouted, without warning,

“Unroll the Oraculum. Go on! Do it!”

B-Rabbit lowered his hand, palm-up, to the ground, to allow her to step onto it. She looked from his hand, to his face, questioning whether or not this was proper, not to mention safe. He smiled graciously, and she obeyed his silent encouragement. He used his other hand as a wall behind her to make sure she didn’t fall backwards as he lifted her off the ground and onto another smaller (though still larger than normal) toadstool.

There was a scroll of parchment she assumed was ancient on it, which Rufus was unraveling.

“‘The Oraculum,” Dodo said grandly. “‘A Calindrical Compendium, of Underland.’”

Alyss walked closer to the scoll; dates were at the bottom, including what appeared to be the titles of those days, as well as illustration for each—which seemed to animate themselves as she read.

“A calendar.” B-Rabbit explained in layman’s terms.

“Compendium.” Rufus repeated. “It tells of each and every day, since the Beginning.” He pointed at their current day, reflecting themselves, in that very moment, looking at the Oraculum. “Today is Griblig day, in the time of the Red Queen.”

Before she could ask who this Red Queen was, Absolem commanded,

“Show her the Frabjous day. Go on, show her!”

Rufus obliged, unrolling the scroll further, pointing to a day in the too-near future, while Absolem noisily slurped his tea.

“That’s the day you slay Jabberwocky,” B-Rabbit smiled at her like this was a normal thing to say, and he had the utmost confidence in her.

“Eh?!” Alyss tried to keep her voice tempered, “Slay a what?!”

At the mention of the word ‘slay’ her heart tried to run from her chest.

She saw, on the day B-Rabbit was pointing to, darkness. Darkness embodied in a creature; like a dragon, with great black, smoky wings, sharp talons, and fiery gaze. And in front of it, a glimmering sword, and a brave bearer. Though she didn’t recognize the defiance in her…the hair…it was unmistakably… her.

And that creature was the same one she saw in her dream.

The world went numb.

“Alyss-sama is there with the Vorpal Sword,” Echo offered.

“No other swords can kill it.” Noise explained, licking her lips, seeming to relish in the idea of swords and killing.

Alyss took a step back, another, and another, as if she could walk away from what was written, both in the future, and the past. Their words were muffled and blurry against the sight and sound of the dream, the fire, the crumbling room, the bloody eye in her hand. B-Rabbit had to catch her to keep her from falling.

“Are you okay, Alyss?” B-Rabbit asked.

Her heart could almost feel the violet flames.

This world no longer seemed so inviting, she was no longer so curious. She understood now; those memories belonged to this place, that dream was a part of this dream, and not only this world, but to the Alyss that belonged in it.

And, for once, she agreed with them: she was the wrong Alyss.

“Th-Th-That’s not me!” she shouted, louder than she meant to, but it was all she could do to keep from screaming like a child.

All eyes were on her.

“I know!” Noise called.

“Is she truly the wrong Alyss?” Sharon implored Absolem quietly.

“Not hardly,” Rufus muttered under his breath.

The rotund man’s only response was to roll around on the mushroom, laughing, then promptly tumble right off the back of it, disappearing from view.

Alyss looked at each of the people around her: Sharon’s gaze was on the ground, her hands folded solemnly in front of her like this were a church service, and they were talking about a serious topic, B-Rabbit’s hands were clenched into fists at his sides, Echo was glancing at the others, and Dodo and Noise both looked proud of themselves.

“I told you!” Noise jeered.

“Maybe she doesn’t look _that_ much like Alyss-sama…” Echo muttered.

Dodo crouched down in front of her. She felt rather like she was being mocked as he grabbed her tiny wrist between his thumb and index finger. Fear lined the wide, violet eyes that looked up at him, just a tiny white rose for him to crush.

“Thou art a little imposter,” he sneered.

“Hey!” B-Rabbit looked worried, and angry. “Let her go!”

He obliged, rather casually, putting his hands behind his back and walking away to lean against another mushroom. Luckily he hadn’t lifted her too far off the ground, so she wasn’t hurt, but she still wasn’t able to land on her feet.

“I’m sorry!” she whined desperately to them all, like a little kid, “I don’t mean to be the wrong Alyss!”

This was too much for her; the dream returning, all these thoughts, and hopes, and dreads, none of which she understood, she was barely able to keep the tears from her eyes. She didn’t understand what was going on, where she was, why exactly is was so important she was Alyss, and the right one at that.

Then she remembered. The fall, the potion…this wasn’t a confusing, tragic, reality, this was a dream. Or at least…she hoped it was. But if this was a dream, what was the first memory? How could she have a dream within another dream? Well, she supposed that wasn’t exactly odd, not for normal people, but she wasn’t normal, she always had one dream.

She closed her eyes. _“It’s only a dream. Nothing can harm you there.”_ She saw behind closed lids, for a moment, her father’s grin, her sister beside her. _“Like this.”_ She pinched herself, hoping to open her eyes, and see them again.

When her eyelids fluttered open again, the group of oddities remained firmly fixed before her eyes. Not even blurred a bit.

Did that mean she wasn’t dreaming?

 _No._ Came her mind’s immediate response. She refused to let this be real.

She pinched herself again.

“I-I don’t understand,” she murmured softly.

“Pardon me, Alyss-san,” Sharon spoke like she was dealing with a mentally unstable person, “But what is it you’re trying to accomplish?”

“I…” she felt her cheeks growing hot, and kicked the ground as she stuttered, “I-I’m…trying…”

“Dost thou not remember? The girl thinks she is dreaming.” Rufus answered for her.

“I could stab you, if you think it’d help,” Noise pulled a knife from who-knows-where, like she was just itching for an opportunity to spill some blood.

Sharon quickly stepped forward, blocking Noise with her arm, trying to keep her own composure, “That won’t be necessary.” She stepped up to Alyss. “Alyss-san,” Sharon addressed her, glancing at Noise to make sure she wasn’t going to break through her defenses, but she was simply glaring at her, irked. “Would a pinprick work?”

“I-I think so” Alyss replied cautiously, instinctively backing away.

“I think I have one of Break’s pins,” Sharon muttered, rummaging around her dress, and found one that had been placed on it, either for decoration, or safe-keeping. Before Alyss could recoil, rethink this, or say _that looks awfully sharp_ , she stuck Alyss’ finger with it.

“Ow!” Alyss jerked her hand up to her chest, glancing at the blood now dripping from the tip of her finger.

Sharon dropped the pin to the ground, her hands flying to her cheeks. “I’m so sorry Alyss-san! I hoped that might help!”

“It’s okay Sha—”

But before she was allowed to finish, a child’s voice sang from behind them:

“Found you!!”

They all spun around to see a child with reddish-orange hair, bright blue eyes, a crimson cloak, and a dark, thorny mark on her cheek. A lean, black dog that seemed to be made of shifting shadows flicked its tail, and licked its lips beside her.

“Bandersnatch.” B-Rabbit spat.

“Did you hear that?” she petted her dog’s head, “They know your name!” she giggled.

Two adults caught up with her—both wearing crimson and gold cloaks, and who had marks on their cheeks like hers. One of them had spiky tan hair, the other, bigger one, kept the cloak over his head, and didn’t seem much for conversation.

“Sorry to do this to you,” the one with spiky hair spoke, though he seemed oddly sincere—at least, until he pulled out a giant black sword.

“Run!” B-Rabbit shouted.

They didn’t have time to waste: so they scattered, like animals, all in different directions.

Splitting up gave her no comfort—Alyss would have liked to be with someone, but she didn’t have time to go back, and saying ‘hey, over here!’ would have been low on the list of good ideas

“Unhand me thou knave!”

“Oy! Get off me!” She heard her new acquaintances being captured.

“Please let Echo go!”

“Ha! You think you can stand a chance against me!” Her other half challenged, and the attacker grunted in pain—Alyss ventured a guess it was from having just been stabbed.

In their rush, no one seemed to have taken into account that Alyss was much smaller and easier to catch. She glanced behind her to see the black dog thundering after, and her heart began speeding in a way her legs couldn’t.

But before she could hurry away, _Wait_ her mind told her softly, _it’s only a dream. Nothing can hurt you._

She made a rather rash decision; she stopped.

This may not have been the best time to stop, in fact, it was probably the worst possible moment.

The black dog slid up to her, dust and leaves shuffling into her face. Its black paws ended up on either side of her—those claws looked far sharper from this angle.

But there was one thing she just couldn’t shake from her mind:

_“Watch me take down the monsters myself!”_

The memory of her sister’s voice.

She wasn’t going to wake up with claws digging into her back. Though terror gripped at her heart, she wasn’t going to keep her back turned. Especially not for something that wasn’t even real.

She turned around. She may not be brave enough to fight back, not even in a dream, but at least she was going to face the monsters head on, like her sister would have done. Terror gripped her heart, in tandem with newfound bravery. The apparent monster lowered a muzzle full of jagged teeth and—were those blood stains?—closer to the little girl…

“Can’t hurt me. Can’t hurt me.” She had to chant aloud. _I’m going to be brave, just like Alice._

It raised a giant paw, and she had to shut her eyes and hope that it would turn into a docile puppy at her thought.

_“What is it you're trying to accomplish?”_

Sharon’s pinprick did hurt…

Then another, bigger shape slammed into the dog, knocking it to the ground in a pile of whimpers.

But not before it had the chance to drag its claw across her arm.

She grappled at her arm, crying out in pain, looking up to see her supposed rescuer was a black unicorn, with a fiery purple mane and tail. It threw its muzzle in the air, pawing at the ground, then thundered away.

“Run, Alyss!” Sharon’s voice fired like a gun from off.

She ran, clutching her arm.

So, maybe dreams can hurt after all.

* * *

 

The Oraculum lie on the ground. It was quite an important thing to leave behind. At least, he thought so, as he reached out a gloved hand, adopting the scroll from its temporary home among the crushed toadstools.

Of course, Lily, Fang, and Dug could be a rather compelling reason to leave it behind, he smirked to himself.

One wouldn’t think that someone with such a bright countenance—long blonde hair, braided down his back, light-filled emerald eyes—could pull off black so well. But The Knave wore the black, leather jacket, pants, and gloves, all tinged red, as if blood was sewn in, like darkness itself was tailored to him.

He gently unrolled the scroll in front of him, his eyes grazing it like he was appraising a fine piece of art.

“It’s good to see you again, Alyss.” A smile curved Jack’s lips, and though his laugh was soft, and gentle, it was tinged with something darker. “It looks like you’ll be visiting my rose garden after all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt like this was a somewhat difficult chapter to write, as all these characters don't really interact with each other at the same time in the manga? In general, I'm using their Chains to cast them, or simply the Alice in Wonderland character I feel they represent, except when someone else would fit much better personality-wise (ie Vincent really does not work as Dormouse in this story, but Sharon definitely does), and that can lead to some odd groups.  
> Also, Tweedledee and Tweedledum being two separate people leads to Echo and Noise acting especially strange/seperate...which sadly takes away from the depth of her/their character...But I hope it at least works within the context!
> 
> Please let me know if there is any point where you feel like any of them aren't in character, and what I can do to fix it!


End file.
